emmens



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN H. EMMENS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PRIMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,796, dated October 1, 1889.

Application filed May 16,1888. Renewed February 11, 1889. Serial No. 299,560. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, STEPHEN HENRY EM- MENS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of London, in England, temporarily residing at Harrison, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Primers,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to percussion-pri mers having self-contained anvils for the ammunition of fire-arms.

In my improved primer the anvil proper is formed by rigid sharp-edged fingers, which penetrate the fulminate and insure its instantaneous and complete explosion under even a light stroke by an ordinary firing pin or hammer. At the same time the improved primer is readily formed by machinery, as hereinafter set forth.

A sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents an axial section of a cartridge provided with a primer which illustrates this invention. Fig. 2 represents ama-gnified section of the primer detached. Fig. 3 is a face view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of its two metallic parts as they appear before being charged and united.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A, Fig. 1, may represent a cartridge-shell of any size and kind, having a central cylindrical recess 2 in its head and a flame-hole y, extending inward from said recess to the chamber of the cartridge.

B represents its charge of any suitable explosive within said chamber, and 0 represents a primer fitted to said recess, having sharp edges.

The primer is composed of a metallic cup w, partly filled with a suitable fulminate F, as fulminate of mercury, and an anvil part c, in the form of a sleeve, with rigid inturned fingers f atone end, against which the fulminate is driven when said cup 20 is struck by an ordinary firing pin or hammer. WVhether the fingers come in contact with the fulminate simultaneously or successively, its virtually instantaneous and complete explosion is insured. The fingers f may of course be more or less numerous without materially changing the operation of the primer, and the primer will be made of different sizes and proportions, as may be required.

In producing the primer the anvil part 4) passes through the form of the cup w. Its closed end is then pierced bya cruciform punch, which removes the metal from between the fingersf, leaving their inner edges sharp, as aforesaid,as indicated in Fig. 4, and bends the fingers to the shape represented. The cup w, having been supplied with the fulminate F, the anvil part *0 is finally applied thereto, being adapted to slide tightly upon the cup.

Having thus described my said improvement in primers, I claim as my invention and desire to patent under this specification- In combination with the customary cup containing the fulminate, the within-described anvil part in the form of a sleeve embracing said cup, and having rigid inturned fingers 'with sharp edges to penetrate the fulminate,

substantially as hereinbetore specified.

STEPHEN H. EMMENS. \Vitnesses:

H. EDGELL, NEWTON WV. EMMENs. 

